


thank u, next

by KimchiKitty7



Series: The Caleb Chronicles [3]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, M/M, Starting to get to real plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23569576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimchiKitty7/pseuds/KimchiKitty7
Summary: With the right connections, anyone can find a way to move forward. And Caleb is nothing if not creative.
Series: The Caleb Chronicles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686178
Kudos: 5





	thank u, next

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually starting to get to plot in this story! Song title from Ariana Grande's thank u, next. I am terrible at coming up with titles, so I usually just use something from whatever song I'm listening to while writing. As always, I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome.

The easiest way to get out of Anita's house and into the world of St. Louis was going to be playing nice with her friends... lovers... harem... Whatever they were. Caleb's first opportunity came from Anita herself. She wanted him to spend some time with Elizabeth. To try to be a calming influence on her. Calming, yeah right. Elizabeth was a half-step sideways from a serial killer. Apparently, he was expendable which was why Anita wanted him with Elizabeth. Maybe they'd kill each other and save her two headaches. Bitch.

Misdirection had always worked in his favor, so he not so subtly pushed her in the direction of a vampire at Guilty Pleasures named Requiem. Nice guy, really. Must be wonderful having powers that resembled a date rape drug. They were perfect for each other.

This had the added benefit of gaining him some goodwill from Nathaniel. Since he'd gone so far out of his way to try and make poor sweet Elizabeth happy. They all really believed that she was still in some kind of mourning for Gabriel. After about an hour in her company he could anyone that would listen to him that she was more likely to kill someone than mourn them, but what did he know.

Nathaniel was a little different from the other pard members. He was genuinely friendly and kind. Caleb had initially thought it was an act, but he really was that sweet. Kind of a strange character trait for a stripper, but he had no room to judge. Unfortunately, in another way, Nathaniel was more dangerous to him than anyone else. Anita and Micah were ridiculously possessive of the younger leopard. Which Caleb learned the first time he spent some time alone with Nathaniel. He'd invited him to come with him to run errands for the house. Caleb was so desperate that even going to the supermarket sounded like fun.

It had been a different story when they got back to the house. Caleb had immediately been hauled down to the basement by Merle and questioned about his behavior and intentions towards Nathaniel. Smarting off only got him a split lip and a black eye for his trouble.

So spending time alone with Nathaniel was out. But spending time while supervised? That was more than acceptable. Which is how he found himself hanging around at Guilty Pleasures during the daytime while stagehands were setting up lights and dancers were practicing routines. He made himself useful, holding equipment in place, steadying a ladder, bringing people bottles of water from the back room. At least here he could pretend that everything was different. That he was free. Or as free as he was likely to get any time soon.

He eventually started spending time at the club at nighttime as well. Jean Claude needed an extra bouncer one night, and he volunteered. A little spending money wasn't going to hurt his feelings, and he needed them to start trusting him if he was ever going to get as far away as possible. Most of the customers getting rowdy at Guilty Pleasures were drunk middle-aged soccer moms, so it didn't take a lot of work to diffuse a situation before someone had to be thrown out. He did a good job which translated into doing the same thing every Friday and Saturday night.

Spending time at the club meant he came to the attention of more members of the kiss. Caleb was nervous when Jean Claude asked to speak to him alone, but it turned out that somebody must have decided they wanted something exotic for dinner. He asked if he would be comfortable feeding some of the vampires who lived at the Circus. If he worked out well, they could discuss him becoming a permanent part of the rotation in the future.

Caleb wasn't exactly thrilled to be a walking piece of meat, and he definitely didn't trust anyone who lived there. They all seemed to worship Anita, which made him leery. But he was also aware that shifters who not only worked for the Master vampire but provided meals for the kiss were given private living quarters under the Circus. Be dinner or keep living with Anita? Ding ding ding, come and get it.

He was terrified the first night he was supposed to be fed on. What if they hurt him? What if they lied about how cooperative he had been to Anita? Either way, he wasn't going to like the result.

Caleb was assigned to a vampire named Byron who looked about sixteen years old. It was... weird. Mostly weird. He knew there were people out there who were addicted to vampires, and he really didn't get it. But the guy was friendly, talked a lot. And asked if he'd be free to come back next week. So Caleb did.

It only took about three weeks before he was added to the rotation permanently, and being gone so often had the added benefit of Anita forgetting he existed for the most part. Getting passed around to a different person every couple of days was unsettling. It reminded him of the way Chimera would lend him to someone who pleased him for a night, and those nights never ended well. At least not for Caleb.

Most of the vampires were decent enough, or at least they didn't purposely injure him. He had a low bar for his own treatment at this point. Byron was his favorite. He was pretty cheerful for a walking corpse, and he always fussed over Caleb afterward, bringing him a drink or a snack and covering him up with a blanket. He'd even let him stay in his room until he was fully recovered instead of throwing him out in the hallway as soon as they were done like Requiem did. Not that he wanted to spend extra time with him. That guy made his skin crawl.

After he was made a permanent snack, he was offered a room at the Circus. It was purely for their convenience, but it was a step in the right direction for him. He made sure to bring the idea up with Micah when Anita was at work, and they were so glad to get rid of him that he got off without a single threat.

Jean Claude's personal pet Jason was the one who gave him the basic tour. There was a communal kitchen area for the humans and shifters to use, nothing too exciting. Who cared what the help had to eat, right? But he had his own room. It was incredibly small, with plain plaster walls. There was a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand that had all seen better days. He thanked Jason and locked the door behind him as soon as he left. His own room. With a lock. Not that it would stop any superhumans who were really determined to get in, but it was more than he'd had in a long time.

He set his backpack down on the floor and flopped back on the bed. He wasn't stupid. It was a long way from being independent, and he'd still have to watch his step. Most of the people here adored Anita and worshiped the ground she walked on. And there were plenty of heavily armed guards around if he stepped out of line. But it was a start.


End file.
